Before your outpatient appointment

Information about your outpatient appointment will be sent to you by letter. Sometimes the hospital will contact you by phone – usually this is when your appointment is in less than 7 days.

Most clinics also send an SMS reminder to your mobile phone in the week before your appointment.

Please do not attend an in-person outpatient appointment if you have any of the following symptoms:

• flu or COVID-19 like symptoms, such as fever, cough or a sore throat
• sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhoea
• generalised unexplained rash.

You should visit your GP and reschedule your clinic appointment.

If your condition gets worse before your appointment

Please see your general practitioner (GP) if your condition gets worse before your specialist appointment or in between appointments.

Your GP will be able to contact medical staff at the hospital for advice or can help you decide if you should go to the emergency department.

What to bring to your appointment

Please bring:

• your outpatient letter – please hand this to the receptionist
• any relevant x-rays or laboratory results
• any aids you may require (spectacles, hearing aids etc)
• Medicare card
• Healthcare card
• Repatriation benefits card
• immunisation records
• a list of any questions you want to ask the specialist.

For paediatric patients, the primary caregiver (parent or legal guardian only) must attend the appointment.

We ask you understand that wait times for outpatient appointments can vary.